-A Five Part River Odyssey-
“Thus the youthful Hiawatha,
Said within himself and pondered,
Much perplexed by various feelings,
Listless, longing, hoping, fearing,
Dreaming still of Minnehaha,
Of the lovely Laughing Waters,
In the land of the Dakotahs.”
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,
From ‘The Song of Hiawatha’
Music: Waterfall
The next stop on our northern river journey
Was a tiny forested creek, up in Minnesota
Here were Longfellow’s epic, cascading Falls
Where Hiawatha’s true love lived – Minnehaha
Like Twain, Longfellow has intrigued me
Ever since I was a very young child, in school
A kind-hearted nun had given me his epic poem
I thought that his Song of Hiawatha was very cool
And thus began my interest in the forest dwelling creatures
And in the many fascinating legends of the ancient Ojibwas
I soon began exploring the many lakes and rivers of Minnesota
And to this day, these glorious northern woods fill me with awe
I still carry that tattered old copy of Longfellow’s poem today
And as my four dogs and I stood transfixed, staring at these Falls
I soon found myself reciting an extremely familiar passage from it
My canines seemed intrigued – they, too, love these woods, after all
“Ye who love the haunts of Nature,
Love the sunshine of the meadows,
Love the shadows of the forests,
Love the wind among the branches,
And the rain-shower and the snow-storm,
And the rushing of the great rivers
Through their palisades of pine trees,
And the thunder in the mountains,
Whose innumerable echoes
Flap like eagles in their eyries;
Listen to these wild traditions,
To this Song of Hiawatha.”
Minnehaha Creek is a tributary of the Mississippi River, and Minnehaha Falls are located near the confluence of this tiny creek with this mighty river. They are near Fort Snelling, a place where I once worked, many moons ago.
While the name ‘Minnehaha’ is often translated as ‘Laughing Water,’ the correct translation is ‘curling water’ or ‘waterfall,’ and it comes from the Dakota language – ‘mni,’ meaning water, and ‘ȟaȟa,’ meaning waterfall.
In Longfellow’s epic poem, the Ojibwa warrior Hiawatha, had fallen in love with a Dakota maiden named Minnehaha, who had lived near these falls.
-To Be Continued-
©2008, Mr. Ed
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Love,
tiger lily
Be always safe,
Karen
Sandie Angel :o)
Newfie Hugs, Rose
Mixed marriages can be a real pain in the butt, hope the guy re-thought it...
Will you please talk to Edvard, he keeps starting trouble, I haven't picked on him since, well, er, uh, probably yesterday...he is such a rabble rouser...if he doesn't stop buggin' me, I am going to take that 800 yard sight and shove it up his..................ed & Rufuz
When you see old Mark around tell him I said hello!
Nice to see you enjoing the thrip, although you should have taken me with you and not left me with Jersey and Mom to tackle all by myself.
Georg
PS Rufuz accepted the Presidential nomination! you should have heard his Woof! Woof! it raised the ceiling in the Convention Center.
(((HUGS))) and love, Karla.